People check out a "Bobcat" diorama during the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. Named after James Ford Bell, founder of General Mills, the Natural History Museum was established in 1872 by state legislator to collect and preserve specimens from the natural world. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A girl dances along with a sandhill crane at an interactive display at the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. Named after James Ford Bell, founder of General Mills, the Natural History Museum was established in 1872 by state legislator to collect and preserve specimens from the natural world. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A couple of young boys check out the pond during the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. Named after James Ford Bell, founder of General Mills, the Natural History Museum was established in 1872 by state legislator to collect and preserve specimens from the natural world. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

People head for the second floor at the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. Named after James Ford Bell, founder of General Mills, the Natural History Museum was established in 1872 by state legislator to collect and preserve specimens from the natural world. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Peter Throntvert, 5, Minneapolis, looks up at the replica woolly mammoth on display while his dad Trygue reads the accompanying plague during the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. Named after James Ford Bell, founder of General Mills, the Natural History Museum was established in 1872 by state legislator to collect and preserve specimens from the natural world. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A man and boy learn about polar bears during the at the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Visitors learn about evolution at the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Visitors check out the woolly mammoth diorama during the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. Named after James Ford Bell, founder of General Mills, the Natural History Museum was established in 1872 by state legislator to collect and preserve specimens from the natural world. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Patrick Skamser, 12, St. Paul, looks up a the reproduction of a woolly mammoth during the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A visitor watches a program about the formation of the Earth at the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A man and a boy explore the universe at an interactive display at the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A visitor checks out wild life art displayed at the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A random assortment of items collected on display at the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Mae Schwartz, 3, Maple Grove, while being held by her mom Sarah Keene, takes a liking to the stuffed gray squirrel on display in the Touch and See lab during the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. Named after James Ford Bell, founder of General Mills, the Natural History Museum was established in 1872 by state legislator to collect and preserve specimens from the natural world. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Dianne Hoon from Roseville gently touches a Milk Snake being held by Bell Museum employee Devan Ekmark in the Touch and See Lab during the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. Hoon, 71, said it was the first time she had touched a snake. Several species of non-venomous snakes and other reptiles wait to be discovered at the Touch and See lab of the Bell Museum. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Volunteer Laura Barber answers question about the bear and wolf pelts that 3 year-old Mae Schwartz is exploring at the Touch and See lab during the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A collection of preserved butterflies is seen on display in the Touch and See lab at the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A collection of horns and antlers on display at the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A diagram of the North Star greets visitors at the top of the stairs at the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A couple explore the "Big Woods at Clear Lake" diorama during the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A couple interact with a kiosk during the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A display of various plants at the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A women checks out the "Sandhill Crane" diorama during the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A giant sundial marks the time in the parking lot during the Grand Opening of the Bell Museum in St. Paul on Saturday, July 14, 2018. Named after James Ford Bell, founder of General Mills, the Natural History Museum was established in 1872 by state legislator to collect and preserve specimens from the natural world. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

That was the sentiment of several folks Saturday getting their first look at the new Bell Museum’s grand opening. Minnesota’s natural history museum, formerly housed on Church Street on the University of Minnesota’s Minneapolis campus, has moved to the university’s St. Paul campus on Larpenteur Avenue. More than 2,000 people attended Saturday’s grand opening.

“The old museum was kind of a throwback to how biology was studied then,” said Tracy Pepper, of Edina, who sat at a table with her husband, Matthew, and daughter, Elie, making a miniature diorama with white felt, plastic ice crystals and a mountain lion figurine.

“My dad studied biology. For him it was more cataloging species,” she said. “When I studied it, it was very different. I studied DNA and RNA.”

The museum, famous for its elaborate dioramas of Minnesota wildlife, kept the things that made it unique but gave it a 21st century update.

Now, when children approach the glassed-in exhibit of the Sandhill cranes, they don’t just stand and observe as they would have in the old museum. They can dance with the cranes through a computer program that activates when they put their feet on the crane prints on the floor.

“Bow and flap and bow and jump,” the animation directed. Stacy Yoakiem, of Roseville, and her children Phoebe, 5, and Sebastian, 7, did their best to follow the directions and laughed when they watched a replay of their dance.

The dioramas and the touch and feel room, (filled with items such as furs, bones, antlers, turtle shells and snake skins) are all that remains of the old Bell. For those familiar with both, it’s as if the Touch and See Lab has spilled out into all parts of the museum with DNA games, molecule puzzles, a huge woolly mammoth and a room dedicated to solving scientific conundrums.

“It’s gigantic,” said Mel Robinson, 70, of Columbia heights. Familiar with the former dark, narrow hallways of the old building, he felt a bit overwhelmed by the spacious maze of interactive displays where he had stopped to study the tree of life exhibit. “It’s marvelous. I could spend two hours just on that.”

Brian Buhr, the dean of the U’s college of food, agriculture and natural resources, said he sees the museum as a showcase for university research and a living lab for students like Sam Drehmel, an astrophysics major, who narrated the planetarium show Saturday.

“With the university as a partner, our ability to cycle through new research and new exhibits is going to be much faster,” he said. “The faculty are really excited.”

Museum board member Parke Kunkle stood at the entrance beaming at the culmination of years of planning.

“The kids are just so excited,” he said. “They all come in and say, ‘Where’s the woolly mammoth?’ ”

Deanna Weniger is a weekend reporter, covering breaking news and anything left over from the week day reporters. She has worked the environmental beat in Port Huron, MI, where she also was a columnist. She is a pastor's wife, homeschool mom, owner of 11 chickens and veggie gardener extraordinaire.

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